Board of Directors commends Gazprom’s gas processing efforts

The Gazprom Board of Directors commended the Company’s efforts with regard to the implementation of the gas processing strategy in the Russian Federation.

It was noted at the meeting that increased recovery of valuable components from raw hydrocarbons and output of readily marketable products were the Company’s key objectives in the field of gas processing. For these purposes, Gazprom consistently develops the existing and builds new processing capacities.

In particular, the Surgut Condensate Stabilization Plant’s annual capacity was raised from 8 to 12 million tons in 2014 through the addition of two process trains. In 2015–2017, the facilities of the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant (GPP) and Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat were upgraded in order to increase the quality and output of their products. Besides, an advanced natural gas and propylene processing complex was put onstream this year at Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat’s plant.

Several hydrocarbon processing projects of strategic importance are currently at the implementation stage.

The Amur GPP, the largest natural gas processing facility in Russia and one of the biggest in the world, is under construction in the east of the country. The plant will annually process 42 billion cubic meters of gas from the Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centers. Along with commercial gas, the GPP will produce helium, ethane, propane, butane and other components valuable for the petrochemical sector. The first two of the six process trains will become operational in 2021.

In the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, Gazprom plans to ramp up gas and gas condensate production from the Achimov and Valanginian deposits lying below the conventionally developed Cenomanian deposits at the fields of the Nadym-Pur-Taz region.

In order to process additional volumes of condensate from the Achimov deposits of the Nadym-Pur-Taz region, Gazprom is building a condensate stabilization unit near Novy Urengoy. Designed for the production of stable condensate, natural gas liquids and de-ethanization gas (with high content of ethane), the unit is slated to be commissioned in late 2019.

Later on, that gas will be conveyed to a de-ethanization gas treatment unit of the Urengoy Condensate Treatment Plant. It is planned to bring the unit into operation in late 2019.

Gazprom is also studying the options of transmitting ethane-containing gas from the Achimov and Valanginian deposits of the Nadym-Pur-Taz region and the Yamal Peninsula fields in order to process it in the Northwestern and Volga Federal Districts.

In addition, the Company is assessing the possibility of setting up a petrochemical complex for converting ethane into polymer products in the Astrakhan Region. Ethane for the project could be produced by the Astrakhan GPP after appropriate upgrades.